Wicker furniture is often the first choice for those looking for vintage inspired style at an affordable price. Wicker chairs are durable, stylish and easily complement any existing outdoor furniture and decor. If you’ve recently purchased wicker chairs, you may be curious as to how often you should clean them and how heavy the maintenance schedule for this material is. Fortunately, wicker chairs only require a little bit of dedication and care in order to keep them looking and feeling pristine for years to come. This article will share some of the best tips and tricks to maintain and properly care for your wicker furniture.
Cleaning Wicker
Wicker chairs only require a small amount of regular maintenance and cleaning, making them an ideal option for those who have a busy schedule or who simply don’t wish to spend their spare time doing intensive cleaning tasks.
Resin based wicker can usually be cleaned with a simple mixture of soap and water. This is due to how the material is weaved and then coated, making it difficult for particles and dirt to stick to the surfaces of the furniture, which effectively prevents rot and splintering.
Bamboo and rattan wicker requires a bit more care and patience. These pieces require routine dusting and vacuuming in order to maintain. The cleaning process is similar to their resin based counterparts, although you may want to add a couple of teaspoons of ammonia to your soap and water mix. This will help to easily break down the grime that often builds up between the weaves of this type of material.
As for how consistent cleaning should be, bamboo or rattan based wicker may only need to be cleaned once every week to keep it well maintained. For resin based wickers, a good dust and clean every other week should suffice.
General Care
Although wicker chairs generally don’t require serious maintenance during their lifetime, you can prolong your wicker furniture and preserve its condition even further by following some general care tips.
If your wicker furniture happens to be placed in an area of direct sunlight, it’s important to make sure your pieces are covered up when not in use. This will prevent the natural wood colouring from becoming dull and faded, which makes it prone to cracking over time.
If you do find your wicker pieces looking worse for wear, rubbing your wicker with linseed oil can quickly restore its former glow. Make sure to let the oil dry for at least several days after applying, and keep the wicker out of direct sunlight during this time.
Wicker can also be prone to build-ups of mildew. Thankfully, this can be easily washed away with a combination of soap and water or an oil based soap. Ensure that the wicker dries adequately after cleaning, as failure to do so will make it easy for mildew to build up again.
Occasionally inspecting your wicker for any cracks or broken pieces is also a good thing to be mindful of. While it’s unlikely your wicker chairs will suffer major damage in their lifetime, in the event that they do, they can be easily repaired by a furniture repair specialist or restoration professional.
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